1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods of treating patients with primary brain tumor, such as glioblastoma, by administering a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antagonist.
2. Description of Related Art
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression is nearly ubiquitous in human cancer, consistent with its role as a key mediator of tumor neoangiogenesis. Blockade of VEGF function, by binding to the molecule or its VEGFR-2 receptor, inhibits growth of implanted tumor cells in multiple different xenograft models (see, for example, Gerber et al. (2000) Cancer Res. 60:6253-6258). A soluble VEGF antagonist, termed a “VEGF trap” or “VEGFR1R2 trap” has been described (Kim et al. (2002) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99:11399-404; Holash et al. (2002) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99:11393-8), which publications are herein specifically incorporated by reference in their entirety.